


Once Upon a Con

by winglesswarrior



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Catfishing, Cosplay, M/M, Spartans, convention life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 12:13:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21428041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winglesswarrior/pseuds/winglesswarrior
Summary: Liam hops on the tube on the way to his first ever FanCon dressed in a full Spartan costume right out of 300 and Louis is so distracted by his thighs that of course he'll follow him around.The boys are all at FanCon and hijinks ensue.
Relationships: Harry Styles/High Fantasy Novels, Liam Payne/Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan/Zayn Malik
Kudos: 10





	Once Upon a Con

**Author's Note:**

> we are calling this: fic war! Three starts of WIPs and seeing what everyone likes best. Then maybe I'll actually finish something.

Everyone was staring when he got on the tube, but to be fair, it was hard not to stare, if not at the circular shield and spear, then at the helmet tucked under his arm or maybe the tiny little shorts and particularly amazing thighs attached to them. 

Maybe it was just Louis looking at that part. 

In his defense, he was sitting, that was most of his view. 

It wasn’t lost on the general business travelers that the convention in downtown London was in full swing, but they didn’t need the glaring Spartan of a heads up that it was happening. A Spartan with an overnight bag and a backpack. A Spartan who’d just ducked his head into Louis’ line of sight and was, what? Talking to him? 

He pulled at the headphones so he could hear, raising an eyebrow at the guy in full regalia costume on the tube, twenty minutes from the convention center. “Wha?” Louis, ever the wordsmith, asked. 

“You're Max,” the Spartan said. “From Fury Road.” He was smiling and Louis couldn't stop staring at it. Who said one person could have that nice of a smile? That was incredibly unfair. Louis was pretty sure he had a nice smile, his pal Niall’s grin was like looking at the sun, but this guy, when he smiled he was some cross between a teddy bear and pinup model. 

“Huh?” 

That as enough to make the Spartan laugh, hiding it in his hand. “Your costume.” 

Oh. That. Louis looked down at himself and shrugged. The costume was a few years old as far as relevance went, but it was all he had in a pinch. “I think mine is nothing compared to yours, mate.” 

That was enough to make the Spartan flush, which was really an interesting thing, that a guy that fit and so comfortably wearing a loincloth could blush that easily, but Louis was starting to feel like the world had half tilted out of axis anyway. Up was down and hot guys with great abs and tattoos blushed when Louis of all fucking people said things. “I didn’t really design it,” the Spartan admitted. “This is my first convention. I wanted to do a costume and my mate dared me to join, didn’t think I could get in. The standards are pretty high for the Spartans you know.” 

Louis knew. The Spartans shouldn’t have been an ongoing thing considering the movie 300 came out ages ago, but no one complained about a group of fit as fuck men prancing around in underwear and sandals. Who in their right mind would complain? No one. Not even Harry who was on this sort of ‘don’t objectify people’ kick. “Well, you showed him,” he said for lack of something else. 

“Her, but yeah.” The Spartan grinned again, all cute and cheeks bunched up in a way that made Louis want to touch him. Just poke until he giggled and laughed. No wonder everyone said he flirted like five-year-old. He usually accused them of being full of shit, but he was starting to see where they were coming from. 

Louis forced a smile, pulling his eyes away from staring, when the tube stopped and bunch of people got off, all looking at the Spartan, but he nodded to all of them. Then suddenly there was a warm and bare thigh pressed against Louis’ when the Spartan sat with him. “So you’ve been before right? To con? You look so relaxed, you must have.” 

Louis cleared his throat, sitting up a little more, not sure why the guy was still talking to him. “Um, few times. My mates are big into it. Nialler’s this awesome cosplayer and Harold does something. I’m not really sure. He shows up and wanders off half the time.” 

It was the truth, but Louis never planned out the events like his friends did. This year he’d forgotten to go in on a hotel room close to the event and was only still getting somewhere to stay because he’d begged for a spot on the floor in the room that Harry and Niall had with two of their friends. It seemed unfair that he was paying almost as much as rent for his bedsit to sleep on a floor, but that was the whole point of the con wasn’t it? They’d been planning things out for months, had perfect costumes set up and Louis had...well he had a reused costume from a year or two before and a bag of odds and ends, mostly booze, that he was hoping would get him through the weekend. 

“That sounds so fun. I’m staying with another guy from the group, but I only know him from a few meet ups. I wish I was staying with friends, but…” The guy trailed off and Louis raised an eyebrow at him. 

“But what?” 

The Spartan shook his head. “Nah, not important.” He turned a little in his seat then grinned that hundred watt grin again. “M’Liam by the way.” He held out his hand even like a proper adult. 

Louis hesitated, then shook it. “Louis.” 

“French?” Liam asked with a furrow in his brow. 

“No,” Louis said. “Yorkshire.” Then he waved his hand. “It’s a thing.” Liam nodded, smiling again like that was all the explanation he needed. “So, why’re you dressed, now?” And how gross was it to sit on the tube with his bare thigh touching the seat? Louis wished he had sanitizer in his bag to offer, but he wasn’t prepared like that. Liam probably wouldn’t be able to reach that spot anyway and would need help. Which Louis didn’t mind offering. It was only fair, help a guy out with rubbing sanitizer on his legs and all...

He snapped his eyes back up from Liam’s thighs to his face, trying to catch back up with what the guy was saying before Louis had gone down his own fantasy spiral of oiling up perfectly toned thighs. 

“...Figured it was just best to head right down to the costume contest, meet my mate I’m rooming with later and go from there.” Liam shrugged and Louis nodded, because what the hell else was he supposed to do? He hadn’t heard the rest of what Liam had explained. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be a hit there. You’re a hit here at least,” Louis teased nodding towards the few people that were openly staring at Liam, and the two others with their phones out, not so discreetly taking pictures. Not that he blamed them, Liam was worth staring at. 

“Hey, you should come to the contest.” 

“What?” Louis looked up again, blinking a few times. 

“The contest. I mean, it’s just the first round, but it gets us into the finals, which, you know, fingers crossed. I think it’d be wicked to win my first year.” 

“First year in the contest?” 

Liam shook his head, breaking out into a grin that squished his eyes almost shut. “First con ever. I’ve always wanted to go. I figured, go big or go home right?” 

That was definitely bigger than Louis’ first year. His first con he’d commuted down to the event every day, wound up drinking too much and throwing up in a fountain at one point. Not that his cons had gotten that much better, because he was still too lazy to remember to book his hotels on time or whatever, but at least he knew people now. And he’d learned some measure of pacing, holding off on getting too drunk until the second or third night so he could take advantage of the late night parties. 

He’d learned to throw together cheap costumes too, which was what had gotten him in with Niall. Niall was bigger into cosplay, more willing to spend time throughout the year putting something awesome together, stockpiling tips, tricks and stealing his mum’s sewing machine for stuff. Harry was the best at the sewing though. That was why he and Niall worked well together, Niall building props and Harry adding flourish to their costumes. 

“Definitely,” Louis said, looking back up at Liam who flushed in just the right way. That was kind of intoxicating. Louis didn’t really do well with strangers. They liked him on the surface, but after a few minutes people got tired of his brashness, his inability to focus, all of that. But Liam seemed determined to keep talking, despite the fact that Louis was still staring at his abs, his thighs, whatever. 

The guy was doomed at con. He was just too damn friendly. 

When the tube finally slowed at their stop, Louis was up, grabbing his bag, and grinning as Liam tried to maneuver himself off the train without hitting anyone outright. Thankfully he left a bit of a wake for Louis to follow after, grinning cheekily at anyone who outright stared at the duo. Once they were free of the carriage though, Louis was starting towards the steps when he realized Liam was still talking to him. 

“Huh?” 

“You should come,” Liam said, obviously repeating himself. 

“To…” 

“The contest.” Liam’s tone had that jovial edge to it that implied Louis was being silly, something only Louis’ younger sisters used on him. It shouldn’t have been a much of a turn on as it was. 

“What am I going to do there?” 

Liam’s skin turned scarlet and he shrugged, obviously trying to steel his nerves before shrugging. “Cheer for me.” Liam said, but he was still red when he did so, which should have taken away from the whole picture, but it didn’t. It somehow made Liam all that much better looking. 

Louis shrugged, figuring what the hell. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Niall had a plan to meet some YouTube cosplay girl he’d been talking to all year, and Harry would likely play his wingman or be off with the LARPers (he swore he wasn’t one, but he was oddly fascinated with their ‘culture’; too fascinated in Louis’ opinion). Why not follow the blushing Spartan wherever he lead? 

“Well,” Louis said, making a face like he was thinking about it. “I am a grade-a cheerleader,” he said with a nod. “Left the skirt at home though.” 

Liam made a face like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die, but reached out to push at Louis’ shoulder, something friendly and in a way too intimate for people who’d just met. “Next time?” 

Louis laugh, nodding. “Obviously. Lead the way,” he said with a grin, waving for Liam to go first.


End file.
